Life in Constant Motion

Life in Constant Motion

TCDRS retiree Clint Springer is taking it to the limit in retirement with his band, Already Gone.

Story by Leonard Balsera; photos by Danielle Bourgeois and Lucas Hernandez

In 1983, 16-year-old Harris County native Clint Springer chose a classic way to worry his parents: he picked up his first guitar and started learning to play. That choice came with plenty of warnings about the temptations of playing "that rock and roll music," along with his father's frequent comparison of one of Clint's favorite bands to "cats fighting in a garbage can."

Forty-three years later, Clint is still making the music his father used to joke about, as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Already Gone, now in its twentieth year. At a recent show at the Dosey Doe Big Barn in Spring, TX, the group tore through an energetic two-hour set filled with originals and fan favorites from the Eagles, Don Henley, and the James Gang.

On stage, the band projected an energy that might surprise people who assume retirement means slowing down. But for Clint, there's nothing unusual about it.

"I stay busy," he said with a shrug. "If you're moving, you're alive."

From Bennigan's to the badge

Clint's career in public service began almost by accident. In 1991, while working at a Bennigan's restaurant, he overheard two customers discussing openings at the Harris County Sheriff's Department. At the time, he had no aspirations to become a police officer.

Still, the conversation stuck with him.

"I think it was a blessing from God," he said. "Maybe there was somebody on the street I was supposed to help, just one person… my whole career could have been centered around that."

Many of his lasting memories as a patrol officer involved helping troubled teenagers get back onto a healthier path.

He said, "Grandpa always taught me to use your words, if you can, and defuse whatever the situation is." The approach often worked. And learning that someone he'd interacted with had turned their life around made the work especially rewarding.

Clint served 29 years with the sheriff's department before retiring in November 2020. But that was only the end of one career; the other had been playing in the background all along.

Clint Springer and the other members of Already Gone. Photo by Lucas Hernandez.

Great tunes and good times

Though he'd been playing in bands since about 1987, his first album with a band called StreetReady came out in 1999. One track, a tongue-in-cheek tribute to an ex-girlfriend called "Mood Swing," even landed on Rice University's KTRU-FM station.

For Clint, hearing the song on the radio was unforgettable.

"It was a college radio station, but I didn't care," he said. "I didn't have to put a CD in. I'll never forget it."

Another standout experience came when his band opened for the glam metal group Ratt at the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino in Eagle Pass. Seeing one of Warren DeMartini's legendary snakeskin guitars on stage made a lasting impression. "I'd never played on a big stage like that before," he said. "It blew my mind."

In 2006, when he joined members of a Beatles tribute band who wanted to pivot and add Eagles material to their setlists, Already Gone was born. Since then, the band has outgrown its tribute-show origins. They are now working on their third album of original music, with Clint as one of three collaborating songwriters.

Never a dull moment

For Clint, the transition to retirement has been smooth - thanks to careful planning and a full life outside of work. He credits much of that stability to his wife, Dara, whom he called his "ultimate support system and rock" for 26 years of marriage.

He said others prepared him for the handful of months when it felt "weird" not to have to go to work. But for him, the key to making the most out of retirement is staying busy. He said, "I tell people, 'Don't get sedentary. Go out and do something, even if it's just working out in the yard. Get your hands in the dirt. If you're busy, you're living.'"

He has taken his own advice. Beyond his music, Clint and Dara play a large role in homeschooling their four grandchildren, helping their son and daughter-in-law meet the demands of their careers. When they can, they make time for life's simple pleasures, buoyed by the security of their TCDRS benefit. Clint said it frees them from rigid budgeting and financial anxiety, so they can dine out or travel at their leisure.

When asked about the future, he said, "I've got a bucket list of places to travel to. But, look… my life is first and foremost where my wife is, right there with her. The band is my bread and butter. And I love songwriting and recording in the studio. I'm never looking for something to do."

Clint Springer has come a long way from the curious kid who first picked up a guitar, and it's fitting that he leads a band whose name is a testament to constant motion. For him, it seems to be the only way to live.

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